And So It Begins!
by whitefairy
Summary: The team have got them into another adventure as they start an exercise made by Antauri to test as a team and as individuals. However, will this test prove to be too tough? And what happens when one pair gets 'distracted' along the way?
1. pairings and perverts

Disclaimer: rawr baby

A/N: sorry there was no continuation to my last story! But I really REALLY couldn't think of anything to follow it which wouldn't be repeating what I'd done. If anyone wants to write chapters for it then you can and I'll put them in with your pen name so people can send reviews to you.

Thanks to reviewers for my last story:

Dark-Tailz: Thanks for the idea! Sorry I won't be continuing. You can write a chapter if you like, I'll send all kudos to you.

Blackrose: Thanks for the list too and the OC, Nami, as well as an idea to go in the story! Uber-cool!

Z: Merci beaucoup mon ami! waves a french flag

Xiaolin Monkey: Yay another victim I mean volunteer, whom I shall take good care of... yeah... very good care (laughs evilly) and I think Zak should meet Zakuro.

TheOneToRuleThemAll: (gasp) please do not eat me, Mother. I will try hard for you TT

Fairy Whisperings: Lol indeed there probably would be!

4Evermonkeyfan: Thank you very much! Can you send me an e-mail when your latest fic is ready? isn't letting me use many functions in my account, i.e. favouriting authors.

Twister91: Yes you do Onyx, I know you do. I have my sources which tell me so!

The team had all decided it was time for some off-planet training and so had opted to use the Stripe Team's home world, whose wild and freakish weather would definitely challenge them as individuals and a team.

Rightly enough, some of the team members were worried about whether the weather would be too tough for them.

A small white, pink and blue winged monkey sat twisting her tail gently with nerves as they travelled in the large Super Robot they called home,

"A-are you really sure this will be safe?" she asked nervously, watching as they got further and further from their home world, Shugazoom. A yellow monkey with pink eyes patted her shoulder comfortingly,

"Don't worry, Ichi! You'll be fine! We'll all be there to protect you, and besides, Antauri said all non-offensive members can stay at the camp in case any first aid is needed" reasoned Nova, smiling at the much shorter monkey who seemed visibly relieved at this information.

Both girls, however, tensed and turned when they heard a snort from a corner. They looked over and saw another yellow monkey there; only this one had white stripes and orange eyes. Nova scowled at him and put her hands on her hips,

"What was that snort for?" she asked, well demanded was more like it but by Nova's standards this was asking. The yellow monkey looked undeterred and leant slowly off the wall and stretched leisurely before turning to the two females and smirking at them,

"Simple, it was to show how ridiculous I think you two are being over a little bad weather" his eyes looked at Nova mockingly and made her grit her teeth in frustration. Ichigo, however, didn't seem as bothered by this arrogance and sighed,

"Citrine..." she started softly, "we're not used to your weather" she looked at him steadily and saw him looked slightly put off and the smirk slipped a little.

"I know that!" he snapped, "but it's not like you're being taken to a death camp. You CAN leave at any time if you want!" he pointed out, scowling slightly. Nova put a protective arm in front of Ichigo and glared at Citrine,

"Don't yell at her! She's just telling the truth!" and this resulted in another teeth-grindingly arrogant snort and Citrine walked off with a mumbled 'I'm outta here'.

Nova sighed,

"That guy can be such a jerk!" she fumed quietly and Ichigo smiled at her.

"Maybe, but I think it was merely his way of trying to show there was no need to be afraid of the weather" she pointed out and Nova had to reluctantly admit that maybe it was but she still thought he was a jerk. Ichigo smiled and shook her head as Nova left, quietly muttering swear words to herself and somehow, it reminded Ichigo of Citrine.

A small rumble of turbulence announced to all those aboard that they'd arrived and soon various coloured monkeys were pouring from the Robot onot the planet's surface, which was lush green jungle today. A dark blue monkey smiled,

"Well, see? That wasn't too difficult now was it? And the weather seems to be perfect as well!" and, as if Fate had been waiting for Gibson to say that, the heavens opened and a monsoon started. The monkeys all stood in dumb silence for a moment before a black and white striped monkey glared at Gibson,

"Just had to say it didn't you?" Jet scowled and they all dashed inside again out of the rain.

A human boy with black hair and blue eyes stared out into the rain and sighed lightly,

"Looks like we'll be taking a late shower guys" he said, with a smile playing on his lips, and with that everyone started getting the things they'd need to survive a week on the planet ready.

Ichigo looked at the large bag she'd packed containing her tent and all the medical supplies they'd need and she felt the sweat accumulate on the back of her head when she realised the bag was bigger than herself. Sighing softly, she grabbed the straps and began making her wings back-pedal to try and move the large bag. Minutes later, Ichigo floated down exhausted and stared in shock when she saw she hadn't even moved the bag at all. She sighed heavily,

"Oh dear" she said softly.

"Need a hand?" asked a deep voice, making Ichigo jump and swivel around. She looked and saw a tall black and white striped monkey standing in the doorway, already heavily laden with other equipment. She blushed slightly as Onyx walked up to her and she looked down out of embarrassment,

"Uh... t-that's ok! I-I'll be alright, you already have lots to carry!" but even as she said this, the black and white monkey walked over casually and tossed the bag over his shoulder with his tail without looking at all fazed or even like he was carrying close to 600lb of equipment. Ichigo gazed in astonishment,

"Wow... uh, I-I mean are you sure it's ok? It's not too heavy is it? L-let me take something else for you" she hovered in front of Onyx, who silently picked up a rope and handed it to her and watched as Ichigo fell like a rock onto the floor.

"That's a titanium enforced rope and the lightest thing I'm carrying" he said in a flat voice, looking down at the little white monkey just picking herself up off the floor and trying to pick up the coil of rope. She stopped trying and felt more sweat accumulate on the back of her head,

"O-oh. I see..." she watched as Onyx picked it up and hooked it on his arm before walking past her. She blinked then followed quickly, hovering at normal monkey height. "U-uh... t-thank you for taking it for... me..." she watched sadly as the monkey walked around the corner without any acknowledgment that he'd heard her. Ichigo sighed slightly and floated off to help the other team members. However, had she seen Onyx's face at that time, she would've seen him blushing deeply and smiling.

Soon, the team had gathered all their equipment and was making their way out onto the planet's surface, which had now turned into a desert and they found the robot was buried up to it's knees in sand. As they all put their stuff down on the sand, some complaining about how heavy it was and how much their backs hurt, a black monkey with green/yellow eyes and a purple and white striped monkey with deeper purple eyes walked out in front of the complaining team.

Antuari coughed loudly to get everyone's attention and when the team had quieted down he looked at them steadily.

"Amethyst and I... have agreed that staying in one single large group would be dangerous for this exercise, and so have decided that the team will be split into pairs. Also, non-offensive members will have to partake in this exercise as well, accompanied by an offensive member" his eyes lingered slightly on Ichigo for a second. Everyone stared at him in silence, waiting for him to continue and they saw a slight blush on his face. "And so... at Emerald's request" his eyes narrowed slightly at a green and white striped monkey bouncing hyperly nearby, "we've decided to pick names out of a hat" Many groaned loudly at this prospect and some even voiced their 'opinions' on Emerald's request, none of which were very kind, but Antauri quieted these voices when he raised his hands. "I know it seems... unorthodox, but this method _is _fair and just so when I call your name go to the person who's name I next call, that will be your partner."

Within the group, a red monkey winked at Nova, and she rolled her eyes, looking sickened, causing the red monkey to pout. Citrine punched the red monkey on the shoulder lightly and laughed,

"Better luck next time eh, Sparky?" he teased loudly, making Sprx blush and growl.

"DON'T call me that!" he retorted, pulling away from the smirking yellow monkey and they listened into the names that Antauri called out.

"Emerald... and Citrine" Antauri read out, causing a cheerful squeal and a loud groan. He ignored this and continued, reaching in and rustling around in the hat they'd borrowed from Chiro. He pulled out another couple of slips of paper and read them quickly.

"Ichigo... and Sprx" he called, looking uneasy about his wife being with the team pervert.

"Yes! Alright!" cheered Sprx but was suddenly punched into the ground by a fuming Onyx,

"HELL no!" he hollered at Antauri, "there is no way Ichigo is going with that pervert!" he ordered and Antauri raised an eyebrow.

"Would you care to give a good reason why she shouldn't go with Sprx?" he asked, following the rules of such an engagement, despite not liking the pairing himself. He felt Onyx growl low,

"It's _Sprx_, that enough reason?" he snapped, causing others to nod and mutter in agreement and a hurt scowl from Sprx, who had got up, spitting sand out and rubbing a large dent on his head. Antauri sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose,

"Very well, Onyx, if you feel that strongly then perhaps _you_ should go with Ichigo?" he suggested.

Onyx spluttered, looking shocked as he hadn't expected this reply then looked down,

"Well uh... yeah ok. I mean, I know how useless Ichigo would be on her own! Guess she'd be safer with me than anyone else!" he said confidently, trying to act casual so as to mask his shock of earlier.

"Mm hmm" was all Antauri said, as he didn't trust himself to say anything else. They didn't need a fight before they even began this exercise.

"Very well, then let's continue" he rummaged and brought out two more slips of paper. "Chiro... and Caitlyn" he heard a gulp and a squawk of protest, as Chiro looked over fearfully at the lilac haired Scottish human girl who scowled back before grabbing her equipment in a single angry swipe and stomping over to join the frightened team leader.

Soon, all had been paired, and they began to share out rations of food, water, survival equipment and medical supplies. They all agreed to meet back at the Robot in a week, after they had managed to trek to the Alorta mountains and return with a peacocyx feather as proof that they'd gone at all.

And so, with the land before them now a steaming jungle, full of strange noises and shadows, the pairs all set off on their exercise, some more reluctantly than others and all wondering if this was a good idea.

Well? What do you all think? Good? Bad? Ugly? Review and tell me! Also, some of those OCS who never managed to put in my last story might be cropping up along the way for our team to find!


	2. schnappsberry

Disclaimer: Super Robot Monkey Team belong to... someone else.

A/N: Okies some cameos oughta happen in this chapter! But don't worry if yours doesn't appear, we still have a looooong way to go.

Thank yous:

Supernova077: Is this soon enough? Lol

Xiaolin Monkey: I could put you in with Matt if you like, but I need a description of you first. Thanks for lending me Matt!

Mewtwo: Hehe thanks! Don't worry I think Antauri will have his own little 'problems' to sort out, like surviving this exercise!

The team all trudged out; some going quickly to get the exercise over with as fast as possible, others taking their sweet time since they were enjoying the company they had.

Two such people were Jet and Otto, who seemed to consider this a holiday and had packed a huge hamper of food as well as their survival things, and, as they trekked through the jungle, they chatted amiably about various things.

"Y'know honey, I've been thinking" said Jet, smiling at her green simian husband as they climbed over a fallen tree trunk, "I think it's time we had a talk about our feelings"

Otto fell over the other side of the trunk in shock and quickly got up,

"Uh... really? Well uh that's a great idea! We'll have to do that... after this exercise!" he said hurriedly, before he attempted to flee one of the dreaded 'talks' Sprx had warned him girls enjoyed having with their partners. He had only managed to turn before a hand placed a strong grip on his shoulder and he felt sweat pour down his forehead. He turned and tried to smile happily, Jet believed it and hugged him close,

"And the first thing I have to say is that I think you need to go on a diet, Otto, you eat way too much! It can't be good for you!" she chided, taking the huge hamper from Otto.

The rest of the team all looked up from their paths when they heard crying and a long 'noooooooooooooooooooooooo' resounding through the trees, making flocks of birds take flight, before resuming their paths with smiles on their faces.

Sprx snickered slightly before getting smacked upside the head by his partner; he grumbled and glared the black winged monkey who gave a bone searing glare back. He quickly backed down, not wanting to fire Zakuro's temper, and settled on muttering incoherently,

"You gonna help or what?" she snapped at him suddenly, making him jump and race to her side to hack away foliage.

"Y-yes sir!" he said hesitantly.

"What!"

"Ma'am" he corrected quickly, before hacking faster, hoping to escape the cranky oestrogen-fuelled female comrade behind him.

Antauri sighed when he heard the second scream of the day, recognising it as Sprx and hoping his daughter didn't do permanent damage to the perverted red monkey. And yet a small sadistic side of Antauri hoped it at least put him off girls a bit.

"C'mon Antauri, we won't get through if you stand around dreaming" said a calm, smiling voice and he felt a gentle push arouse him from his stupor. He blinked and shook his head before smiling at his comrade,

"You're right, I'm sorry Amethyst" he said, with a slight blush forming, before joining her side at hacking the leaves away. They worked long and hard and soon they were both exhausted and sweaty, Antauri looked over at the panting purple monkey and turned away, feeling his blush increase. He shook his head and stood up,

"I uh... maybe we should make camp for the night" he suggested, looking out into the deepening black that ate away at the sky. Amethyst stood up next to him, making Antauri shift but not uncomfortably,

"Yes, I think you're right. It'll be dark soon" she agreed, before leaving Antauri's side to get their things ready. Antauri felt the warmth leave his side and he turned longingly, watching her back. He quickly shook his head,

'Stop it!' he mentally chided, 'You're married! You shouldn't feel like this to any other girl!' but he glimpsed slightly at Amethyst, who caught his glimpse and smiled back. Antauri felt weak at the knees and sat down heavily. In a flash Amethyst was in front of him, looking worried,

"Are you ok?" she asked, looking over his face for symptoms of any illness, she reached up and touched his forehead. Antauri felt fireworks go off in him at full throttle and he tried to control himself.

"Fine... I'm fine!" he squeaked, reaching up to remove Amethyst's hand but Amethyst didn't look convinced.

"Are you sure? You felt warm, do you have a fever?" she reached to touch his forehead again, but Antauri quickly moved.

"Honestly, I'm fine!" he insisted, doing a triple somersault "see?" he said as he landed, smiling. Amethyst sat back on her haunches, looking mildly stunned at Antauri's feat, before a smile split her face and she started laughed. Antauri looked pleasantly confused and this seemed to make Amethyst laugh more.

"Oh... oh I'm sorry. It's just... you looked so... so... funny!" she managed to get out between chortles, making Antauri blush more in embarrassment.

Antauri smirked at her, feeling somehow euphoric he'd managed to make Amethyst laugh, and he walked over to her,

"So you thought that was funny did you?" he said in an uncharacteristly evil voice, which made Amethyst stop laughing at once and look up in fear. "Well then, I'll make you laugh!" he cried before tickling her unmercifully.

Everyone looked up when they heard the squeals of laughter and begs of mercy, including Ichigo; blissfully unaware of who it was who was laughing, but still smiling at it.

"Sounds like someone's having fun" she commented, looking over at Onyx. He snorted in acknowledgement and Ichigo felt the smile drop a little. She floated over to him,

"Need a hand?" she asked cheerfully and a cloth tent was suddenly thrown on top of her.

"Hold that" came a voice, strained from pulling ropes tight on their tent. When Ichigo managed to find her way out of the cloth, she looked out to see an army style tent set up rigidly for them. She floated over, looking amazed at how taut the walls of it were,

"Wow" she said as she floated in and out of it, looking impressed; making Onyx smirk slightly at her unwitting compliment.

"Thanks" he said, as he sat lighting a small camping stove. Ichi flew over curiously then rummaged in a bag to find something they could eat, she looked completely shocked to find no food left in their bag but a small 'oh dear' was all she could manage to say. However, that was enough to bring Onyx over and he peered in over her head, which was an easy feat anyway due to Ichigo's lack of height, and he almost blew a blood vessel.

"OTTO!" he bellowed loudly, stirring any monkeys who'd gone to bed and causing a certain green monkey to shift uncomfortably.

"I'm gonna kill that guy! I'm gonna-" but then he froze. He turned back to Ichigo, floating innocently by the empty bag,

'Otto can wait' he thought, sighing and sitting down. Ichigo came and sat with him and Onyx couldn't help smiling at her; he never could figure it out but she always made him smile somehow.

"Maybe we can catch something to eat?" suggested Ichigo, poking at the ground slightly as if it would make food appear. Onyx chuckled at the thought of Ichigo attempting to catch so much as a rabbit,

"Ichigo... I really doubt you could catch an animal for us" he admitted and Ichigo looked confused.

"Why would we need an animal? I meant we should catch some fast food bar open late somewhere and get something to eat" she said, obviously not understanding where her food came from. Onyx sweated slightly and realised this,

"Uh... Ichi... I meant that" he looked into her eyes and realised that he couldn't crush that innocent and very naive part of her and he sighed, "Never mind, I'll go get us something to eat, you just stay here" and with that he got up and started walking into the surrounding jungle.

"Wait! What if you get hurt?" Ichigo asked, looking panic-stricken over his welfare. Onyx felt a blush appear on his face at the thought of her caring so much about him and he smiled at her,

"Don't worry about me, just stay here ok?" he replied softly, reassuring her before he went into the dark jungle and was lost from sight.

Ichigo sat down and sighed.

Meanwhile, some of the others had decided to travel in a group of four for that night before splitting into their pairs in the morning. Within this four were Otogi, Ryou, Chiro and Caitlyn, all of whom had set up for the night and just finished their meal.

Ryou stretched lavishly and smiled at everyone,

"Well... now what? I'm not feeling that sleepy, so should we stay up?" he asked. The others nodded, feeling the same as him.

"Let's tell ghost stories!" cried Caitlyn eagerly, making the others jump at her sudden hyperness.

"Um... ok?" agreed Chiro, unsure how to reply to his overenergetic partner. This seemed to make her happy and she sat down, looking serious. She leant forward so the flames made shadows dance on her face, for the 'scary' effect, and began her story,

"It was a dark night" she began in a deep voice, which she assumed was frightening, but then a snort stopped her story.

"How else could a night be?" Otogi asked rhetorically, looking clearly unimpressed, but a warning shove from Ryou kept him quiet. Ryou smiled at his wife,

"Please, carry on, Cait-chan" he said smiling encouragingly. Cait beamed at him before starting again.

"It was a dark night and in the town of..." she stopped to think of a name "monkeyville" she concluded, earning another snort from Otogi.

"Monkeyville?" he clarified, smirking before Caitlyn scowled at him

"Yes! Monkeyville! Now shut up!" she snapped. Ryou quickly put a hand over Otogi's mouth to stop him from retorting again.

"And in the town of Monkeyville, three little monkeys were all snuggled in bed asleep" she continued, "suddenly a loud crash awoke the three little monkeys!" she cried, making the trio jump slightly and she smirked at the effect she had. "The little monkeys all sat up and looked at each other in fright,

'What was that?' asked one of the monkeys. The others shrugged and they decided to go investigate. The three little monkeys all looked out of a crack in the door and saw nothing in the hall. They decided it must've come from downstairs and so, one by one, they crept out into the hall and down the stairs" Caitlyn paused for effect and smirked at her captivated audience, well all apart from Otogi who'd fallen asleep, before she continued her twisted tale.

"The three monkeys looked around the downstairs hallway but didn't see anything. They decided the crash must've been their imaginations and they started up the stairs. However, something shiny caught the last little monkey's eye and he walked over to it. He saw it was a lemon drop (a hard-boiled sweet with sherbet in the middle, for those who've never had them) he beamed. Lemon drops were his favourite! He leant down to pick up the sweet and suddenly WHAM!" Cait smirked more as she made her audience jump ten feet again. "A kitchen knife fell and stabbed the monkey through the chest!" she concluded gleefully before starting up again. Ryou frowned fearfully and leant nearer to Chiro,

"I don't like where this story is going" he admitted quietly and Chiro nodded in agreement. The duo watched in morbid awe as the Scottish girl continued her story, which became progressingly gorier and more unfortunate for the remaining 'little monkeys' who were both massacred by Caitlyn's cruel imagination.

"And they all lived happily ever after!" she ended, cheerfully. She looked at the boys, who gaped in horror at her, then she frowned and they immediately began applauding, scared for their safety.

"Well I think that's enough stories for tonight! Time for bed!" Chiro said hastily as he ad Ryou crawled into a tent as fast as possible, leaving Otogi snoring on the ground and Caitlyn blinking. She shrugged and crawled into the other tent.

Soon, the trio had fallen into a deep sleep and were dreaming happily, although Ryou and Chiro had a little more difficulty falling asleep. But the boy's dreams were disturbed when a sudden crash through the trees awoke them.

"W-w-what's that?" asked Chiro quietly, his voice rising a pitch or three. Ryou looked at Chiro with equally fearful eyes,

"I-I dunno" he whispered back and they looked at the door of the tent.

Suddenly a figure fell through the door, moaning slightly and dripping what looked conspicuously like blood. The pair from the famous and heroic Super Robot Monkey Team then jumped into action, and began screaming like little girls. They clung to each other in fear and stared wide eyed at the creature looming towards them.

Caitlyn scowled at being awoken; she'd just won the Nobel Prize for her work in animal science and was celebrating with Ryou in a Jacuzzi full of Sprite when screams ruined it. Cait got up and stormed over to the source of the screams and peered into the tent,

"Will you two-" she then froze, seeing the moaning and dripping creature and screamed. "What the heck is that!" she cried, before kicking it through the other end of the tent and into a tree, where it remained motionless.

The trio sat panting for a while, all eyes fixed on the black and white form in case it suddenly moved again. Then Caitlyn blinked,

"Wait... black and white?" she walked over to it, Ryou and Chiro staying behind her for safety, and she pulled a mass of gooey fruit off the creature's head. "Onyx!" she demanded, glaring at the creature, which in fact was Onyx.

He grinned back, something very unOnyxish and hiccupped. Caitlyn picked up one of the fruit and sniffed it,

"Schnappsberry" she announced, holding the accusing fruit up to the boys, "Its juice affects the system like alcohol would" she explained to the pair of blank faces. Blank faces which were soon contorted with anger,

"You mean he's drunk!" growled Ryou, staring daggers at the monkey, who'd managed to sit up by then.

"I'm not drunk" he slurred, hiccupping again. Ryou rolled his eyes then realised something with horror,

"Wait, if you're here, where's Ichigo?" he demanded, looking panicked. Onyx snorted and waved off his concern like a fly,

"Back at the camp! I left to find us food!" he explained, before standing, already starting to sober up.

"You left her alone!" cried Ryou, grabbing the monkey by the chest. "And what if something attacks her! Didn't think of that, did you? She's a sitting duck!" he panicked more and this seemed to seep into Onyx's still alcohol full mind. He suddenly looked worried too,

"Oh... damn" he said quietly and they all jumped and turned when they heard an ear-splitting scream.

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I'mma on a roll! W00t! Review and tell me what you think!


	3. purple iguanas and more perverts

Disclaimer: Camembert!

A/N: at last, a cameo! I finally put someone's OC in! Don't worry though, if you wanted yours in and have asked then they'll be appearing in the next chapter!

Thank youuuuuuus:

Twister91: Onyx, I know you get drunk! A certain little birdie has told me so AND shown me pictures of said event!

Love-writer: Lol! Glad you liked it! Hope you find the rest just as good!

Tiger Priestess: Sprx: Hey I would know! I've had loads of ladies in my time! smirks the ladies luuurv the Sprx-man!

Onyx felt the alcohol slip out of his mind with every step as they ran back to where he and Ichi made camp,

'How could I have been so stupid?' his mind kept bouncing this question around as he, Ryou, Caitlyn, Otogi and Chiro all rushed through the leaves. Suddenly Onyx skidded to a halt, causing the others to pile into the back of him and fall over.

"Whatcha stop for?" snapped Caitlyn, who was squashed under Chiro and Otogi, but a metallic hand shot up and covered her mouth. Onyx gave her a look which said 'Shut the hell up!' and Caitlyn proceeded to do so.

She then saw why when she looked in front, and was greeted by an entire wall of purple! Caitlyn gazed at the purple, drooling slightly,

"Purple" she mumbled, getting up in a zombie-like way and walking towards the purple.

"Cait-chan! Stop!" hissed Ryou urgently but still trying to keep his voice down. However, Cait was far from being able to stop as the wall of purple mesmerised her further and she finally came up to it. She spread out her arms wide and hugged as much of the purple wall as she could,

"Puuuuuuurple" she droned, smiling as she rubbed her cheek along it. Suddenly the wall moved and started to turn. Cait blinked "Purple?" she said, looking at the wall and she paled.

What had previously been thought to be a wall, turned out to be a huge purple iguana! It loomed over them; making the shorter members feel even shorter and even making Onyx step back a little,

"N-now what?" asked Otogi nervously, looking unsure of the giant reptile. Onyx then noticed that the iguana was sitting on his and Ichi's camp and his eyes narrowed,

"Now... we beat the crud out of this thing and find out what it's done with Ichi!" he growled, claws extending from his hands and glowing a dark blue. Ryou nodded and pulled out his samurai swords, getting into a defensive position and Chiro powered up a Chiro Spearo attack. Otogi quickly pried Caitlyn off the iguana's side and they stood back to watch.

There was a deathly silence as the three males stared down the colossal giant. Onyx flexed his claws slightly, Ryou tightened his grip on his swords and Chiro readied himself to jump in at any second.

And suddenly the fight began! The three boys launched themselves at the iguana, each hollering a war cry and holding their weapons ready. The iguana blinked and knocked them all away with one flick of its tail, making them land in a nearby mud puddle.

Onyx got up, wiping mud from his face and looking pretty angry,

"Again!" he roared and was about to jump on the creature again.

"What the heck's going on!" cried a voice and the boys screeched to a halt. They looked around for the sound of the voice.

Suddenly Ryou spotted another monkey on top of the large iguana, which seemed to be looking down on them with disdain now, and Ryou could see it was an army green monkey with red eyes. Then he spotted what the monkey was holding,

"It's got Ichi!" cried Ryou, and that was enough for Onyx who promptly flew at the monkey and collided with it. The pair rolled down the iguana and landed in the mud again,

"What were you doing to Ichigo, pervert!" demanded Onyx, claws raised, ready to rip out this stranger's throat if he'd so much as _thought_ of Ichigo in the wrong way. The monkey snorted and pushed Onyx off, dusting himself down and picking up Ichigo, who was unconscious,

"I _was_ saving her from becoming a midnight snack for any vulgles around!" the monkey snapped back, glaring and gesturing to the huge clawed birds circling the sky, "unless that is that's what you _want_ to happen to your little girlfriend!" he growled then smirked when he noticed Onyx's blush. "Oh I'm sorry, FUTURE girlfriend!"

"Shut up!" Onyx snapped back, then his shoulders seemed to slump, "she's married" he mumbled. The monkey raised an eyebrow at this revelation and Onyx's reaction,

"Seems like you're not that thrilled about it" the retorting snort seemed to answer that and the monkey's expression softened.

"Well... since it seems we're not enemies, how bout some introductions?" asked Chiro, coming forward and putting out his hand to the monkey.

Soon, the group were all sitting around the camp fire back in Onyx and Ichi's camp, where Ryou and Otogi dragged their and Chiro and Caitlyn's stuff to as well, and were soon swapping stories. The team discovered the monkey's name was Matt and he'd lived on this world was four years now. He'd grown used to the wild weather and had raised his iguana here.

"Wow... where did you get him from?" asked Caitlyn hyperly, pointing to the iguana and hugging it. Everyone else felt sweat accumulate on the back of their heads and Ryou tried to look stern,

"Caitlyn... you can't have one" he said in a tone saved just for Cait, the same tone parents use on children except this was a bit more forceful. Caitlyn then began to complain loudly to Ryou.

Chiro chuckled slightly and told Matt about themselves and the team. Matt seemed interested in it, the whole 'saving the universe' idea appealed to him,

"Bet you get loads of girls asking you out" he grinned, nudging Chiro who blushed.

"Well I uh... that is I uh..." he stammered then chuckled sheepishly. Matt grinned then looked at Otogi, who looked boredly back,

"And what about you, Mr Silent-Type?" Matt asked, causing Otogi to raise an eyebrow,

"What about me, what?" he asked back. Matt slapped his forehead in an exhausted way like his question was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Do you have a little lady hidden away on a planet somewhere?" Matt asked, grinning lewdly at the albino who blushed then glared.

"No, I don't!" he gritted out, already disliking this monkey, "and even if I did I wouldn't introduce her to you!" he added, snorting slightly.

Matt shrugged off the comment and turned to Onyx, who was looking after Ichigo further away from the campfire and seemed very preoccupied in every movement she made in case it meant something bad.

"You sure seem worried about her" remarked Matt, crawling up beside Onyx. Onyx snorted in reply and dabbed Ichigo's forehead with a sponge, Matt couldn't help grinning at Onyx's obvious worry, and "you don't seem the type to fall for a cute girl" came his next remark.

He felt, more than heard, Onyx's growl and his grin widen,

"Then again, maybe you are! Maybe you look at her in her sleep or in the shower" he teased further but suddenly a hand choked his windpipe and prevented any further teasing.

"You mean like you wanna do?" growled Onyx nastily, leaning slightly protectively over Ichigo. Matt grinned more at this action, despite not being able to breathe.

'This guy makes it too easy to annoy him' Matt thought then he noticed Onyx smirking slightly and paled.

The following morning, the team set off, with Ichigo now awake and brought up to speed, along with the newly acquired iguana. Caitlyn bounced along holding the iguana's leash whilst Ryou grumbled disapprovingly,

"Say, where'd that green monkey go?" she asked, looking around, "I wanted to thank him for leaving us his iguana"

Onyx couldn't help grinning,

"Oh I'm sure he's hanging around!" Onyx replied casually, glancing at a cliff edge as they went, where a piece of rope held taut as it went over and down the cliff face and, to anyone who saw from the other side, held a green monkey binded in it at the other end trying desperately to swear angrily behind a gag.

Meanwhile, further up the mountain, Nova was trying as hard as she could to not kill Sprx.

"Y'know Nova, your butt's kinda big, maybe you should train more?" Sprx remarked in an innocent tone, although Nova knew it was anything but innocent. She growled and chanted what had become her mantra on this exercise,

'Do not kill Sprx. Do not kill Sprx. Do not kill Sprx!' she felt a rock the size of Sprx's head crush to powder under her hand.

"Well I think your _mouth_ is too big! Maybe you should train more in keeping it shut!" she snapped back at the red monkey behind her. Sprx grinning lewdly,

"Aw c'mon! I was just giving you some helpful advice!" he replied, trying to sound hurt. Nova felt her patience and mantra wearing thin. She suddenly turned and raised her fist,

"Here's some helpful advice!" she cried, smacking the monkey in the head and sending him down onto a small ledge below with spirals in his eyes. Nova sighed happily at the 'constructive' release of her anger but her happiness didn't last long as she felt a sudden jolt from the mountainside. She looked up and paled when she saw a huge chunk of rock had split from the side of the mountain and was falling towards her. Nova quickly dived out of the way just in time and gasped when she saw the rock heading straight for Sprx.

Sprx sat up slowly, shaking his head to try and rid himself of the ringing in his ears. He then noticed the shadow falling over him and looked up at the giant rock falling fast at him. No time to blast the rock away, he braced himself to be severely squished and… blinked when he was suddenly pulled out of its path.

Sprx watched as the boulder smashed the ledge he'd been on a second before to pieces and kept on barrelling down the mountain into some trees, he shuddered involuntarily at the thought of what might've happened. He turned and was amazed to see that his saviour was Nova and she was now flying with him in her arms back onto the mountainside, he remained in a dumb silence even when she landed and put him down, to check him for injuries. Then he grinned,

"Sheesh! What's a monkey gotta do for a little love; kill himself?" he joked and noticed that Nova gave him a soft look back,

"No, he just has to ask" she replied warmly and Sprx felt butterflies fly up into his stomach at that warm voice. He smiled back and felt a blush spread across his cheeks,

"Heh, I'll keep that in mind" he said and for a few seconds they stared into each other's eyes.

However, time wouldn't stand still forever for the pair and Sprx got up, offering Nova a helping hand which she accepted gratefully and they started up the mountain again.

"Y'know I'm gonna get you back for that big mouth comment" he said jovially, and Nova snorted.

"Dream on, Sparky!" she retorted.

"Do NOT call me that!" he replied angrily,

"You wanna make something for it, _Sparky_?" and soon bickering was heard echoing up the mountain and the world was in balance again.

Yahoo! Third chapter finished! I can't believe it! Well, review people! Or you'll make Ichi cry!


	4. i wonder

Disclaimer: w00t  
A/N: I've had a few people asking for their OCS in the story and to those people can you _please_ send me a description of them! I don't have time or attention span to wade through loads of people's stories to find out what their OCs look like or act like just for a cameo. Thank you

Thank yous:

Mewtwo: Hehe (sees Ichigo blush and Onyx ranting angrily) guess they're still in denial. Thank you hehe

Fuyuki Bamboo Fox: homgit'sChazz (glomp attack) been good! You? And thank you for the heads-up if this gets deleted I'll just repost it without review bit XD and thanks for Ark, I'll take good care of him (grins evilly and pets Ark's head)

Fairy Whisperings: (hears Sprx ranting with a bump on his head) heh heh. And may I have a description of Midnight so I can use her please?

Tiger Priestess: Sprx: (crying now) why do all these girls hate me? (Cries more til Nova hits him) Me: can I have a description of your OCs please?

Twister91: shut up Mal, you'll appear sooner or later ¬.¬ and stop smirking Onyx or I'll sick Ichi on you!

Malachite sighed for the thousandth time as his partner jumped at another bird rustling some bushes and watched her jump behind him.

'I miss Zaki' he mourned in his head, imagining his black winged girlfriend who would've no doubt made this trip to heck and back more interesting. Well for him anyway.

"Sapphire... it was just another bird" he said in a monotone voice and this quickly brought the blue monkey out from behind him, looking indignant.

"I-I knew that" she said quickly, trying to not shake and stomping ahead until another rustle brought her back behind Malachite. The green and white monkey sighed and pondered who'd got partnered with Zaki after she nearly mutilated Sprx.

"Lucky guy" he mumbled as Sapphire clung to him this time.

However, the guy who'd been partnered with Zaki was feeling far from 'lucky' as he tried to study some of the wildlife around them.

"Gibson! Move your big blue butt over here before I _kick_ it over here!" hollered the vile tempered femme fatale, making the multi-coloured bird Gibson had been watching and taking notes on fly off. He sighed and turned to her,

"_Yes_, Zakuro?" he asked with gritted teeth, "what do you need now?" he would've added but was too frightened of the second in command's daughter to do so.

"I would prefer it if we got to the base of the mountain this _year_ Mr Gibson" she said in a sweet dangerously low voice, making it clear to Gibson that he was one wrong step away from the Med bay in the Robot. He felt sweat run down his forehead and he laughed nervously,

"O-of course! I'm sorry that I held everything up! L-let's get going!" he said in a fake chirpy voice and he quickly hurried in front of Zakuro and up the path they'd cut towards the looming grey giant that was Mount Stripe.

Soon, all the pairs had gotton to the base of the mountain, or had started climbing it, and were making camp for that night under the watchful gaze of the looming geological giant. Close to the base was a natural hot spring, which encircled a third of the base, and many had decided to camp near here and rest in the hot waters.

One of the pairs who decided to do this were Onyx and Ichigo, who'd made it to the mountain base in the afternoon and Onyx had waited in some bushes for Otto and Jet to appear so he could attack Otto for stealing all their food. Which he done, much to Jet's disapproval, and came back to where Ichi was sitting in the camp with his arms full of the food he'd stolen back.

He grinned proudly when Ichi cheered at all the food he brought back and she began packing it away into a bag, apart from what they'd eat tonight. Onyx leant back, arms behind his head, in the setting sun, enjoying the last few rays of warmth it gave before it vanished behind the darkened horizon.

"I'm just going to the hot spring Onyx, do... do you wanna join me?" came Ichigo's tentative voice, full of shyness and uncertainty, and Onyx turned.

What confronted him was the last thing he expected. Ichigo, now in her human form, in only a towel. Onyx felt the blood rush north as well as south inside him and his brain seemed to shut down to Sprx level,

"Uhhhh..." came his ever-intelligent reply as the remaining sentient part of his mind tried to drag his eyes from Ichigo's body and up to her face, which was now clouded with confusion.

"Onyx?" she asked, clearly worried now, and walked over to him, "are you alright?" she knelt in front of him and Onyx thought his mind was going to explode from the sudden rush of hormones inside him.

"Fine!" he suddenly cried, "you're fine! Ack I mean _I'm_ fine! Yeah, but thanks for your concern, Ichigo, you're the breast. AAAH, I mean best! Best!" he suddenly hid his face in embarrassment and Ichigo blinked then smiled.

"I'm glad you're ok, Onyx. So... you wanna join me in the hot spring?" she asked innocently and Onyx shook his head to try and dislodge the bad thoughts suddenly coursing through his mind. He smiled at her,

"Sure, I'd love to" he replied and got up. "Let me get changed first"

Ichigo nodded and turned,

"I'll meet you down there" she said and vanished into the trees.

Onyx breathed a huge sigh of relief and tried to calm himself down,

"C'mon Onyx, snap out of it! So's she's got a great body? So what? You've seen tons of pretty girls before!"

"But none like her I bet" purred a nearby voice and Onyx jumped. He turned and saw a monkey climbing out of the trees,

"And who're you?" he asked suspiciously, "have you been watching us this whole time?" the monkey chuckled.

"Well... you and your girlfriend _are_ a lot more interesting than anything else on this planet!" she confessed then smirked. "And I can see you agree" she nodded downwards and Onyx quickly covered himself and growled.

"Get lost! Before I make you!" he yelled, threateningly and the monkey sighed.

"Please, drop the tough guy act! I'm not going to hurt you, or your pretty little girlfriend!" she smirked as he blushed.

"Why does everyone think she's my girlfriend! We're just friends! And she's married!" he cried angrily, but a hint of sadness still crept through. The monkey shrugged slightly,

"So? If you like her and she likes you than nothing should stop it, and trust me I can see that she definitely likes you" Onyx could swear this monkey was almost purring with glee. His eyes narrowed,

"Who are you?" he asked, walking towards her. "Any why do you care so much about my and Ichigo's relationship?" he felt like smacking his head when the monkey burst into giggles, "I don't mean _that_ kind of relationship! I mean a friendly relationship!" he snapped.

"Oh I bet it is" giggled the monkey, winking and nudging him. She started walking away. as she left him blushing and spluttering profusely, "Y'know, you should try telling her how you feel. You might be surprised at what her answer is" the monkey jumped into the trees from where she came, "and my name's Nami!"

Onyx watched, looking stunned, before he looked down in thought. His body seemed to run on auto-pilot as his mind buzzed with questions that made his stomach knot itself up.

'Would she say she felt the same? Does Ichigo feel the same about me? But... what about Antauri? She's married to him, she must love him. But... I wonder...' then he re emerged from the trees into the clearing at the edge of the lake and he saw Ichigo sitting in the water.

'I wonder...'

She beamed and swam over to him happily when she saw him.

Onyx watched her body language and Nami's words rang in his ears,

'_You might be surprised at what her answer is'_ Onyx looked up at Ichigo, his hand clenched tightly on the towels he brought with him and he walked over to Ichigo looking determined.

Ichigo noticed how serious he seemed and immediately looked anxious,

"O-Onyx?" she asked, edging closer to him, "what's... wrong?"

Onyx thought back to the many times they'd been in something together and how different and happy he felt with Ichigo, like he belonged at her side, and how much it tore at him when she died to save him and the team.

Lots of other members of the team had accumulated by the lake edge and they all noticed how serious Onyx looked. So, being the kind people they were they spied intently, eager to find out what had made him walk up so determinedly to Ichigo,

"Onyx?" queried Jet under her breath, watching her brother's body language. And soon, whispers flew throughout the camps and many gazed wide eyed with curiosity.

Onyx felt their stares and, for once in his life, didn't feel so confident in his decision. But he shook himself and stood up tall, he licked his dry lips and looked deep into Ichigo's eyes,

"I-Ichigo... I-I gotta tell you something" he started slowly. Ichigo blinked and leant closer to him,

"Yes?" she asked softly, looking very anxious now. Onyx closed his eyes and moved slightly nearer to the albino girl,

"I...I... lo-"

And there it shall end for this chapter! (Ducks rotting fruit) Hehe, me so ebil (little devil horns and tail poke out) anyways, I officially close the OCs bandwagon, cos I think I have enough now! Thanks to all those who gave me their OCs and if I can get descriptions then I shall put them in! But, until then, revieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!


	5. cold hearts and confessions

Disclaimer: ... Look! Dots!

Thank yous:

Fairy Whisperings: oops, sorry Midnight! (Sweat drops) heh heh well at least THAT'S cleared up! And thanks for the character bio; I'll be putting Midnight in for sure!

Twister91: Hush woman! I can't fit everyone into every chapter! . Just sit quietly with your purple iguana and Ryou!

Tiger Priestess: thank you for the bios! I'll put them in! And I hope Antauri isn't watching either; an angry Antauri isn't gonna be fun... or is it? (Grins evilly)

Everyone gawked at Onyx in astonishment; what he really going say it? Prove what they all knew and show that he actually had a soft side? Cait sat petting her iguana (there! See? You're in it Cait!) and drinking can after can of Sprite as she watched beside Ryou unblinking. Otto leant forward in anticipation so much he fell into the water, causing those beside him to sigh and roll their eyes before becoming glued on the scene once more. The Stripe team all stared; Emerald bouncing eagerly, Citrine smirking, Amber and Ruby trying to keep their expressions neutral but Amethyst seemed more worried than eager, especially when she glanced at the monkey beside her who had his green-yellow eyes fixed on the monkey at the centre of attention with silent hatred and anger. Amethyst gulped and placed a hand on Antauri's arm,

"Antauri..." she spoke quietly but flinched when he pulled his arm away and began storming towards Onyx. Amethyst let her hand drop and watched helplessly as the usually calm and stoic second-in-command was now charging like an enraged bull towards the one who he'd always feared would steal his wife away.

Onyx could feel his heart hammering hard against his chest, trying to break free and show Ichigo his true feelings, but something held it back. It could've been nerves, as everyone was staring cow-eyed at him right now, but more than that he thought it was pride; what would his father think of this? Onyx envisioned his father, huge and terrifying, towering over Ichigo and squashing her with one repulsed stomp like she was a fly of some sort. His father had always hated anything remotely cute or sweet and Ichigo was practically the epitome of both things! No, he couldn't tell her! He couldn't bear the thought of what Matt would do to her if he found out. He looked down sadly and resigned himself to this train of thought; he gave a small sad flickering glance at Ichigo before making his features cold and hard.

"I hate you" he whispered, feeling each lying word pierce into him. "I hate you with all my heart and I can't understand why you're so freakishly cute and happy all the time! You're so weird! I wish you'd... you'd..." he glared as best he could into Ichigo's shocked and upset eyes and willed himself to go on, "I wish you'd just disappear for good!" he cried into a thick silence. He panted and looked at her, feeling sick with himself at what he'd done, and then he heard a drip. He looked down at the miniature puddle then up to find its source; he felt his heart shatter when he did as he stared into Ichigo's big tearful eyes that now seemed to fill with a despair and sorrow he'd never thought possible for the constantly optimistic female.

"I-Ichi..." he started, but suddenly a mouth full of sand clogged his words and caused him to shut his eyes. Everyone looked away, covering their faces, as the planet's surface began to change rapidly from jungle into desert in a violent sandstorm.

Once the wind had died they looked back and saw that both the hot spring and Ichigo were gone.

Ichigo blinked tears and sand from her eyes as she found herself in a dark dank cave. From the ceiling hung huge stalactites, ones which could easily squash her if they fell, and water dripped from them rhythmically. She whimpered slightly, crawling away from the huge natural daggers, and looked around herself. She saw glittering rocks in the walls of the cave and seemed awed by the sheer hugeness of this place; she walked up to a wall and touched the glittering surface. She gasped and quickly jumped back as if she'd been burnt. Cold! The walls were so cold they burnt and Ichigo looked closer at them. Ice, not rock. She looked around again and realised she was in fact in a huge cave made of ice; it could very well have been a glacier, and Ichigo whimpered again, this time scared that she might freeze to death with only a small wet towel to cover her body.

She squeaked when a small piece of ice crumbled off the wall and her heart began to pound again.

'Is... Is it going to cave in!' her mind raced with panicking thoughts and she ran blindly, hoping to find an exit. She felt tears well up again as she ran,

'What do I do? Where do I go!' her mind raced with these questions and she sobbed at the thought of being crushed to death or trapped in this frozen prison all alone forever. Her mind turned to all her friends and family; her brothers, Ryou and Otogi, grief stricken at losing their triplet sister, Antauri, blaming himself for her death, the Monkey team, mourning the loss of a comrade, the Stripe Team, feeling the pain of their friends' grief, Caitlyn, shutting herself off from everyone in a bid to not talk about her pain, her daughter, Zakuro, no doubt lashing out in rage at everyone as was her way of showing grief and Malachite trying to calm her and live with his own sadness. Ichigo felt another sob escape at the thought of causing her family grief and pain,

'Jet too' she thought, remembering how they would always go out and do stuff together, 'and...Onyx...' her thoughts lingered on the grumpy black and white monkey, his cold glare as he told her he hated her and his words that were like arrows to her heart. But then, how could she be surprised? She'd always known that Onyx hated anything cute or cuddly and she knew that she annoyed him, being useless at fighting and another 'liability' as he'd once put it, and yet, she'd always had a feeling that behind that cold hard outer mask, was a warm, gentle person begging to be let out and she thought that maybe... just maybe, he was going to show it for a second.

"Ow!" she cried as she suddenly ran into something. She moaned slightly in pain and rubbed her now-throbbing head as she looked up to see what she'd run into. She squeaked in fright when she saw a black and blue monkey towering over her, glaring with blood-red eyes. He seemed to be studying her and Ichigo instinctively held on tighter to the towel around her.

"I-I'm s-sorr-" she stammered,

"Quiet!" barked the monkey, making Ichigo wince like she'd been hit. He seemed to study her more then he dragged her to her feet and pulled her along with him. "What are you doing in my home?" he barked again, Ichigo had the feeling that this monkey no doubt always barked. She tried to keep up with his fast pace,

"I-I'm sorry! I-I turned up here by accident! I-I had been at the hot spring-"

"What hot spring?" he barked again, cutting her off. She winced again,

"T-the hot spring on Planet Stripe!" she explained quietly, feeling uncertain whether she should be telling him this or not. She watched as a slow smile seemed to spread on his features and it made Ichigo feel sick to see it. He looked at her like she was a prized trinket, one long searched for, and his attitude seemed to defrost a little,

"And do you know the Stripe Team?" he asked, in a softer voice. Ichigo, surprised by this change, blinked,

"Uh... the Stripe Team? Well uh... yes I do-"

"Excellent!" he cried and pulled her towards a door, concealed by ice. Ichigo watched in amazement as the monkey just held out his hand and the ice seemed to retreat.

He smirked at her amazement and dragged her through the door.

"And what is your name, pray tell?" he purred, causing Ichigo to shiver with repulsion. She eyed him wearily, unsure whether to answer, and the monkey's eyed hardened again,

"Answer me!" he barked commandingly and Ichigo let out a small sob. He growled low and Ichigo wished for that moment that she could switch places with someone else, someone stronger who would no doubt put this bully in his place.

"I-Ichigo" she stammered, feeling his glare intensify and wondering if he'll use his ice powers on her. This seemed to please his temper, however, and they continued down the corridor. Ichigo looked around at the bareness of the walls and wondered how someone could really live like this. He then pushed open another door and Ichigo gasped.

They entered what seemed to be a palace hall, with long winding pillars made of iridescent ice and complex scrollwork running down them. Trails of leaves ran along to the top of each pillar and ended at the ceiling high above them. Patterns ran along the ceiling and met at each pillar before running outwards again to meet at the next one and the pillars seemed to lead up to a magnificent throne made of solid ice, shining proudly at the other end of the room. However, despite this splendour, Ichigo was shocked to find statues dotted around which frightened her to her very soul. The statues showed people of different species crouched or contorted in fear in a way that seemed so lifelike Ichigo could swear she could hear their silent screams. But then one caught her eye and Ichigo felt her body go numb. She realised then that these weren't just statues, these had once been living breathing beings, and she walked almost in a daze up to the one familiar fearful face. She dared not touch it in case it burned her like the wall, but she gazed with sorrow into her friend's face,

"Otto..." she whispered mournfully, as she gazed upon the frozen statue of her friend.

Antauri seemed to explode the moment they realised Ichigo had disappeared, as did Ichigo's brothers, and the explosion landed directly on Onyx.

"You stupid pig-headed useless incompetent fool! Look what you've done now!" roared Antauri, punching Onyx hard. However, he could've hit Onyx with a ten tonne bomb for all the effect it had on him. Onyx remained silent and shocked despite all that went on around him, only awakening when a flash of white caught his eye,

"Ichigo?" he said on instinct and found him staring into the angry eyes of Ryou, whose eyes got narrower at onyx's remark,

"You wish" he hissed and Onyx actually felt scared for his life. He looked into Ryou's eyes and saw no intention of sparing his life unless he could do something useful then and there. He noticed Otogi behind Ryou, no doubt ready to attack if Onyx tried to escape the first vengeful albino.

"Ryou...Otogi..." he whispered hoarsely, his throat suddenly very dry, "please, wait. This is no time for rash actions" he felt the steel of Ryou's sword press against his throat and he gasped at the cold metal. "Please... do you think Ichigo would want you to do this?" he asked and both boys seemed shocked at this answer. They looked at each other, talking silently with their eyes before looking back at him with softened expressions. Onyx sighed in relief but it was short-lived when Antauri pulled him up by the fur of his chest,

"I don't care what Ichigo thinks of this! I won't let you live to hurt her more!" he growled, vehemently, claws extending from his hands. He was about to drive the claws into Onyx's chest when a calming hand touched his arm and he looked around.

"A-Amethyst" he stuttered, dropping Onyx, and turning to her. "W-what..." but Amethyst pressed a finger to his lips to silence him and gazed into his eyes.

"This isn't the way" she said softly, touching his cheek, "you know that if you do this no good will come of it. Please, Antauri, please calm down and think rationally" she looked at him pleadingly and Antauri felt himself melt. He hugged her close and sighed,

"Alright" he gave in and jumped at a snort behind him. He swivelled around and saw Onyx glaring disapprovingly. He glared back, "what?" he demanded.

"You" said Onyx simply, "I can't believe you. You just go on at me claiming you'll make sure _I_ can't break Ichi's heart and then you go around being all lovey and hugging Amethyst!" Antauri let go of Amethyst and glared harder at Onyx.

"What _exactly_ are you trying to say?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips "and, further more, her name is Ichigo, not _Ichi_" and Onyx growled,

"What I'm saying _exactly_ is that you obviously love Amethyst more than Ichigo now!" he accused, narrowing his eyes. Antauri blushed,

"Th-that's ridiculous! Of _course_ I love Ichigo! I married her because I love her! And I have had children with her because I love her!" he reasoned, his voice shrill. Onyx raised an eyebrow,

"Then why does Ichi sleep in her own room again? Why do you seem to find excuses to go be with Amethyst more and more? Why do you hug Amethyst when you've never hugged any other female member? And why..." his eyes narrowed to angry slits. "Do you only ever hug Ichigo when _I'm_ around?"

He watched as Antauri spluttered and blushed and murmurs of agreement to what Onyx said were heard. Antauri felt his hand ball into a fist and his body was shaking, he tried to shut out the agreements and what Onyx had said but they all rang true.

'It was all true... I do find myself spending more and more time with Amethyst and less and less with...Ichigo' he looked shocked at the revelation then saw Onyx's annoying smug grin. He felt himself growl in frustration and he suddenly exploded again,

"Alright! I admit it! I love Amethyst!" he cried then looked aghast at what he'd said. He turned to see Amethyst's shocked expression and words failed him.

"Amethyst... I-"

And suddenly a huge projection filled the sky above them; smirking down at them and making them feel insignificant.

"W-who's that!" cried Sprx, looking awed by it's frightfulness, then he heard a collective growl from the Stripe Team.

"Midnight" they said in unison as the monkey smirked more.

"Ah, good to see I'm not forgotten!" he crowed, "However, I do believe you _have_ lost something! In fact, I do believe you've been careless enough to lose _two_ somethings!" he chided mockingly then the projection panned out to show the frozen statue that was Otto and Ichigo chained up beside him, looking very frightened.

"Otto!" cried Jet

"Ichi!" cried Onyx, then he growled, "If you so much as touch a hair on her head I'll-" but a snort from Midnight stopped him.

"You'll what? _I'm_ the one holding all the cards here! And _you'll_ be the one to do as I say!" he barked and Onyx growled but saw he was right so he held his tongue and reigned in his temper... for now.

"What do you want?" he asked, teeth gritted and he saw this seemed to please the blue and black monkey.

"Ah, that's more like it! Now... I have only a small request of you. It shouldn't be too much trouble." he played casually with a lock of Ichigo's hair as he spoke, making her whimper slightly in discomfort, "destroy the Stripe Team!" he commanded and everyone gawked at him.

"What!" they cried

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo another chapter out of the way! (Dances) and yay someone's OC actually has a PART in it! And gasp, Antauri doesn't love Ichigo anymore? Review to find out what happens next!


	6. actions and decisions

Disclaimer: Look! My finger!

A/N: Everyone thank Fuyuki Bamboo Fox for making me get my butt in gear and writing this! XD

Fuyuki Bamboo Fox: omfgwowbbqit'syou! Woot thanks! I shall fit Ark in… somehow…. somewhere XD but no, I won't be able to get you in too, sorry. But I shall put Ark to good non-evil use!

Racbgar: Wowyourpenname'ssocool! And lo, I have continued!

Tiger Priestess: So many questions . But they shall hopefully get answered now! And your OCs oughta be in this chapter too!

Mewtwo: Maybe he will, but you shall have to read and find out!

Twister91: I already have enough of your OCs woman! . So nope it's not your Midnight, tis Fairy Whisperings instead!

Fairy Whisperings: Hmmm stroking behind the ear eh? Thanks! (Grins evilly)

The monkeys and humans all stared at the projection dumbly. Midnight smirked back evilly; however, he soon grew bored of this and his face began to ache, although he wouldn't admit this, so he scowled instead.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Attack the Stripe Team!" he demanded, feeling annoyed that these insignificant cretins were still just gawking at him. He felt this annoyance increase when the black and white one snorted at his command,

"Go ahead, won't bother me if you get rid of 'em!" he said, as Midnight could tell he was male from his voice, "In fact, you'll be doing me a favour!"

Midnight looked mildly surprised, which meant astonished but his face wasn't used to performing any expressions other than arrogant smirking and anger, and he glared,

"You mean, you don't care if I do, say _this_" and at this point he made an ice dagger and slashed at Ichigo. He grinned at her wail of fear and pain as the deep gash let her blood flow down her face. He turned back to the screen and frowned when he saw Onyx looking unmoved at all,

"Nope" said Onyx, simply, "Go ahead, do something worse. I won't care; she annoys the heck oughta me!"

Midnight looked at Onyx carefully, and then his gaze went to the other team members; all of whom had various looks of disinterest, and he adopted a similiar look of indifference.

"Well if they really mean that little to you" and he suddenly shot out an ice beam, encasing Ichigo inside it and he smirked at the screen again. He seemed pleased to see more faces looking scared for their friends now, although the black and white one remained unbothered still.

Onyx kept his face still, even as he watched Midnight freeze Ichigo, and tried to play this game right. It was simple psychology, make the captor think what they have is useless and they'll probably let it go. _Probably_. It was a big gamble, made even bigger when he saw that now both Ichigo and Otto were in vulnerable states.

'Keep it up, just stay cold. He'll give up on them soon' he thought to himself as he watched Mdnight look annoyed at the lack of reaction Onyx made, but Midnight seemed to know something else behind that annoyed visage and it disturbed Onyx greatly.

"Release them!" cried Chiro, attempting to take charge before any more blood was shed. He glared at the projected face, "what is it you actually want?"

Midnight seemed pleased at Chiro's reaction and sighed mock-exhaustedly,

"Dear boy, I've already told you what it is I want! Now you must fulfill that if you are ever want your teammates back!" he grinned sickly and watched the young boy pale.

Onyx sighed at Chiro's brash reaction and looked at the monkey in front of him, who was Citrine.

Quick as lightning his hand went out and Citrine fell down lifeless. Everyone stared at Onyx in disbelief.

"Onyx, how could you?" cried Emerald, rushing towards him. Suddenly she too fell down, not moving. This seemed to have an instant effect on everyone around the bodies; the remaining Stripe Team members huddled together, glaring, whilst the others stared wide eyed at their member. Midnight laughed and applauded,

"It seems you _do_ have some sense after all! Now, finish the rest and I'll return your precious friends"

Onyx narrowed his eyes at the projection,

"Shut up" he said simply, and quick as a flash the remaining members of the Stripe team fell. Midnight crowed victoriously at the sight of his arch enemies lifeless on the floor,

"Excellent work! I must admit I was sure you would be too soft-hearted to go through with it but..." and at this point, a sick grin grew on the monkey's face, "I guess these two must be quite important to you. So I think I'll be holding onto them for now, in case I need your services again!" and with that the projection suddenly blinked out and fizzled away.

"No!" cried Chiro, reaching out towards the sky where the projection had been before letting his hand fall numbly to his side. He stood staring at the sky, along with many of the others, until a sudden thump seemed to catch their attention.

Everyone turned to see Jet, Onyx's younger sister, standing over her brother and glaring with such an intense hatred they didn't think was possible as Onyx lied on the floor, holding his cheek where he'd been punched.

"How could you?" she screaming shrilly, her voice cracking with emotion, "you knew it. You _knew_ he wouldn't release them! Yet you went ahead and killed our friends anyway!" she went to punch Onyx again but he grabbed her hand and held her tight so she wouldn't struggle.

"I needed to do it" he said simply, and these few words seemed to silence his sister, whose face stayed shocked. He let her go and turned to the team,

"Anyone else got any questions?" he asked, his voice gaining its annoyed-at-everything edge again.

"Why..." whispered Nova, crouched next to the body of Citrine, "why..." she looked up with tears in her eyes and such a soft expression on her face that everyone seemed surprised. Onyx surprised, or shocked, everyone by allowing a rare smile to play on his lips.

"To buy time for some friends" he answered.

Midnight grinned at himself as he looked at his two new statues,

'I've outdone myself this time' he thought, feeling proud with himself and his cunning plan. Suddenly a sense that he wasn't alone anymore made him stop the victory party in his head and he turned around scowling. He blinked in surprise at the appearance of four individuals, all looking very different, in his hall. He scowled at them, though he was more angry with himself for letting his guard down so much over something so trivial than the intruders, and the atmosphere became colder.

"Who are you?" he demanded, making ice creep towards the group threateningly. The group seemed unfazed and this annoyed Midnight further. Suddenly one from the group stepped forward, a human male with blonde hair and calm blue eyes, and looked at him intently.

"Release them" he said calmly and Midnight stared at him. The human's expression hardened "_now_"

Midnight snorted and raised an eyebrow,

"You're in no position to be making threats at me, human" he gloated and waved an arm. Soon, the ice sculptures encasing Otto and Ichigo were encased further in a shell of thick freezing ice from which spikes shot out viciously sharp and glinting. He smirked at the cage he'd created and turned back to the group. The rest of the group had moved forward now as well and he took them in; a female robot monkey with white fur, green eyes and a green symbol on her chest stood in a defensive position next to another robot monkey, male this time, who had silver fur, red eyes and a red symbol on his chest, and between them a white bengal tiger with blue stripes crouched, growling softly.

'Hardly threatening' he snorted at them and casually waved a hand, causing a wave of ice to rush towards the group. He turned to leave when the sound of ice cracking, sounding much like glass breaking, echoed towards him and he spun around to see that his ice-wave had been shattered. He looked widly for the cause and saw the human with his hand outstretched, revealing a hole in his hand. Midnight narrowed his eyes angrily,

"I see I underestimated your abilities. However, you weaklings are still far below my level of power" he crowed. The human slowly unwrapped the bandage covering his other hand,

"You shouldn't be so sure" he replied calmly, letting the bandage fall to the floor. Midnight scowled at the bandage cluttering his pristine ice palace and looked up to complain just as a laser sword sliced through the air at him. He dodged it quickly and jumped back, gaining more distance between himself and the group. He blinked to see that they had disappeared from the spot they'd been at,

"Where-" he never got to finish that sentence as an elbow connected with the side of his face, sending him crashing into the floor.

He pulled himself out of the impact crater slowly, and spat some blood out. He snarled slightly and his eyes glowed with anger and hate towards the group, all now spaced out tactically throughout the cavernous hall. They all stared determinedly at the black monkey and Midnight growled.

Suddenly the door to his palace exploded and clung on barely by its hinges; Midnight tore around, glaring fiercely at the gaping doorway. Inside it the Super Monkey Team stood, along with the others, and Midnight felt his anger reaching bursting point.

"How dare you burst in like this!" he screamed, and he froze at the tinkling sound as ice clattered down the cage he'd made to encase his trophy prizes, Otto and Ichigo, leaving a large yawning hole in its side. He felt his body burn with anger and he blasted blindly at the two groups on either side of him, making them scatter.

Then the monkeys, humans and one tiger all launching themselves with various types of attacks at the furious ice-wielding tyrant. The chaos was soon over though, as Midnight was overwhelmed by the sheer force of the teams' combined attacks and he fell down, defeated.

Onyx grinned smugly and rushed over to where Ichigo and Otto lay frozen still. He looked lingeringly at Ichigo and closed his eyes.

"Onyx..." started a voice behind him and he spun around, looking surprised. He looked even more surprised when he saw it was Antauri, and he was smiling at him! Antauri closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, they seemed to shine with what looked like hope.

'But... hope for what?' wondered Onyx as Antauri placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You love Ichigo, don't you?" he said, more of a clarification than a real question. Onyx felt a blush start up on his face and Antauri leaned back, smiling,

"I thought so" he murmurred slightly, looking into the middle distance for a while. He stayed like that for quite some tiem and Onyx started to shift uncomfortably. "Onyx... I think I now understand why you said what you did before to Ichigo and I want you to know... that that was the single most stupid thing you've ever done!"

Onyx blinked in shock at this reply then he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"And why's that?" he asked hotly, scowling slightly at the smiling black monkey.

"Because you've faced much bigger things than your father in order to save someone you care about and, quite honestly, if you love Ichigo is it really worth putting her through all this pain?"

Onyx looked shocked and then he looked down,

'No... It _isn't_ right. But... what else can I do to protect her?' he mused

'_Love her_' came a voice, and Onyx looked up sharply at Antauri. Antauri smiled back,

"I know I've never been a real leader to you Onyx, and I've always given you a hard time, but the truth is... I_ know_ you can take better care of Ichigo than I can and... it makes me slightly... jealous, I guess, to think that I'm not as strong as everyone thinks I am. So Onyx, I'll offer you a proposition: take care of Ichigo, love her and protect her and I won't ever give you a hard time on decisions again." He smiled at Onyx and held out his hand, to seal the deal, "Deal?"

Onyx looked at Antauri's hand; feeling tempted, and reached out shakily, but stopped himself and shook his head slowly.

"No..." he said quietly, making Antauri look surprised for a change. "I'll love and protect Ichigo cos I _love_ her" Antauri smiled at this reply and nodded, satisfied.

"Ok then" he replied and, for once, the two monkeys smiled at each other and saw each other as friends.

A roaring sound of jet engines broke the peace however, and everyone jumped up to see Midnight, in a spaceship, taking off and smirking at them.

"You sentimental fools! Did you really think you could defeat me?" he roared, steering the spaceship to face the team underneath. On either side of Midnight, lights glowed dimly and seemed to build energy which pulsed slowly out from its sides. Gibson paled,

"Those are neutron plasma lasers! He'll destroy us all!" he cried and the team all gathered together, looking to their leaders for a plan. Chiro stared at the lasers, looking desperate, as did Antauri, whilst Onyx stared determinedly at them.

"Please say you've thought of a plan for this!" cried Jet, staring fearfully at the lasers which were pulsing more frequently as energy built up further inside them. Onyx looked at her and Jet's heart sank. "No..." she whispered and the team all braced themselves for the end.

"Goodbye you pests!" roared Midnight and a high-pitched whine filled the air, louder than even the jet engines. The team huddled, closing their eyes, and waiting.

Then a blast ripped through the air, but instead of feeling their atoms being shredded, the team felt the ground beneath them shake and crack. They looked up to see Midnight's spaceship crashed on the ground in front of them in burning ruins, and above them the Stripe team's jets hovered overhead.

Citrine leant out of his and grinned at their gobsmacked faces,

"Need a lift?" he joked and the team all rushed forwards to their friends, carrying Ichigo and Otto with them.

And, as they lifted off, they watched the ice palace crash in on itself from all the damage it received in the battle and taking Midnight with it to an icy tomb.

Woo hoo! Another chapter is finished! But oh no this isn't the end! I have another chapter to go! The final, mushy romantic ending to Onyx and Ichigo's story! As well as maybe revealing why the Stripe team is still alive! Review peoples! Cos reviews make kitty happy: D


	7. the good part!

Disclaimer: this story is nutritionally balanced!

Thank yous:

Fairy Whisperings: ah c'mon Midnight, you know you love it really! And hooray for hugs!

Twister91: Ryou: (glares at Onyx) if my sister didn't fancy you I'd neuter you!

Mewtwo: hehe thank you

Tiger Priestess: (gasps) you knew? Am I making this too predictable then? (Panics insanely)

4Evermonkeyfan: thank you 3

Fuyuki Bamboo Fox: AAAAAH! (Waves arms insanely) you can't kill him yet! I need him for this chapter! (Glues onyx back together for now) there w

Soon the team had found the Super Robot again, which was hidden under piles of sand due to Stripe Planet now changing to a desert climate, and set about preparing to take off. Ark got rid of the sand, using his abilities to control sand, and Malachite was assigned to getting sand out of the engines and hydraulics then fixing them so they could leave safely. Gibson and Kai were busy thawing out Otto and Ichigo carefully so they could revive them, and Gibson actually didn't mind having the help! Antauri and Chiro were talking to Xel, Eclyps and Ark; thanking them for their aid and offering the team's services if they were ever in need. Some of the girls were already swooning over Ark and Xel, but neither seemed interested; although they both stayed polite to the giggling group that were slowly becoming fangirls.

This left most of the group with nothing to do and so, they got bored. And began annoying Onyx with questions of how the Stripe team could be alive when they saw him kill them. And poking him when he didn't reply. Onyx ignored all this and continued to lean against the Robot, looking unbothered, for a good while until Emerald and Cait poked him one too many times.

"Alright I'll tell you!" he snapped, swiping at Cait and Emerald to stop them. In a flash, those with nothing better to do were around him; grinning in anticipation and triumph at managing to wear Onyx down. He blinked at all the grinning faces then shook his head and scowled,

"I didn't kill them" he said simply and everyone complained loudly for more detail. Onyx couldn't help the smirk that appeared as he continued to remain vague on what he did. The group tried begging, flattering, bribing and threatening but still they could see Onyx was having more fun teasing them by holding this elusive information to himself than anything they could offer. That is; until Cait decided to get her brain in gear. She sidled up beside Onyx and grinned into his face. Onyx managed to keep his face neutral but he didn't feel safe now Cait was grinning.

"Bet I could get you to tell us" she said confidently and Onyx scoffed.

"Oh and how's that?" he asked, deciding to play along with whatever Cait was at now. He grinned confidently, so sure that Cait wouldn't be able to wear him down, so sure that Cait would get bored and give up like everyone else, so sure that she didn't know any weakness of his. That's when he saw Cait pull out a small black leather book and he paled, she flicked through some of the pages and her eyes gleamed.

"Ooooooooooooooh, I bet the team would _love_ to know this!" she said, teasing him but it worked.

"Cait, y-you wouldn't!" he felt sweat run down his face as she smirked at him and he reached out to grab the book from her. She smiled and held it out of reach,

"I would! So tell us what you did or I tell everyone what's in your diary!" she teased in a sing-song voice which somehow made the evil grin on her face much more sinister. Onyx glared hard, but Cait's head didn't explode like he hoped so he resorted to grumbling incoherently for a bit.

"It's not a diary, it's a _journal_" he muttered annoyed but Cait just shrugged at this.

"Doesn't matter, I'll still read stuff out of it" she replied simply and Onyx growled.

"Fine!" he snapped and once again the group of anticipating grins was around him. He sighed in defeat and looked at them, "All I did was hit them with a small electric wave on the central nerve and stopped their metabolic functions for a while"

He watched as every face clouded with confusion and he sighed again, this time angrily,

"I shocked them so they seemed dead for a while ok?" he snapped before swiping his diary (Onyx: JOURNAL!) out of Cait's hand and walking away.

Everyone blinked and there was a collective 'ohhhh' before everyone dispersed into smaller groups.

It was nearly nightfall on Stripe planet before Mal had got every last grain of sand out of the Robot and the teams could finally go back into the Robot out of the searing heat.

"About time" grumbled Sprx, who froze at a low growl behind him and then went flying into a wall courtesy of Zaki. The groups flopped into soft round chairs and soon the sound of the engines roaring into life and the feeling of the robot blasting into space was felt by all and it was never more welcomed.

Soon, however, the more… 'Energetic' members of the groups were rested and were bored again. They decided to annoy Onyx again; this time, about what he was going to say to Ichi.

"Are you gonna apologise to her?" asked Emerald, bouncing along beside him. Cait, Nova, Jet and Zakuro all joined in with asking this question as they surrounded the black and white monkey. His face looked pained slightly, as if he was being tortured, and the boys almost felt sorry for him. Almost. But watching the mighty, confident Onyx blushing, spluttering and generally not in control was far too amusing to give up.

"For what?" he snapped at them, trying to stare them all down and failing.

"For saying you hate her, duh!" said Zakuro, with an accompanied smack to Onyx's head. He growled at her and narrowed his eyes,

"Why would I apologise for that?" he snapped again and this seemed to be the moment the girls had been waiting for.

"Cos you looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove her!" they sung at him, some pinching his cheeks and others just resorting to teasing. Everyone watched as the mighty Prince of Darkness planet turned red and stumbled over his words.

"I DO NOT!" he roared and the girls giggled.

"Aw, give it up _Ony_ we all know the truth!" Nova teased, nudging him.

"Yeah _Ony_ we know how you really feel about Ichi!" said Cait

Onyx snarled and tried to swipe at them but they were too quick,

"Shut up! And why the heck are you calling me Ony?" he demanded. The girls grinned and closed in on him again,

"Well, Ichi calls you Ony, so why can't we?" asked Jet, trying to seem innocent but really was far from it.

"Yeah _Ony_" chorused the girls in sync and Onyx roamed his mind for what to say.

"Cos…..cos…." he looked away, trying to keep some dignity left, "that's different" he finally argued.

"Yeah, it's different cos you looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove her!" countered Zaki, smirking widely and eyes glittering mischievously. Onyx slapped his head,

"Alright!" he roared over their giggling and teasing, then he panted. "Alright….I do….I do love Ichi. Are you happy now?" the girls all stared wide-eyed then crowded in on him squealing happily.

"I knew it!" cried Jet, hugging her brother before he could hold her back. "My bro is finally growing up!"

"So when are you gonna tell her?" asked Cait eagerly. She loved all this match-making stuff, but she loved torturing Onyx too and now she got to do both at once!

Onyx shrugged,

"Never" he said simply and suddenly the merry teasing and squeals stopped as every face was shocked.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" they cried, rushing at him.

"Are you crazy! You've gotta tell her!" cried Nova, shaking him madly. The girls all shouted their agreement and Onyx held up his hands to try and silence them.

Eventually, the group calmed down and looked at him expectantly, arms either crossed or thrust upon hips to show their displeasure at Onyx.

"Antauri… has to talk to her first" he said quietly, suddenly feeling sad, "he has to… confess about loving Amethyst instead and discuss plans for divorce first…" and suddenly it seemed like the colour and vibrancy had drained from the room as every face looked down in shock and sorrow.

"Oh yeah… forgot about that" whispered Zaki, hoarsely, obviously taking it hard as she hadn't realised what this meant for her parents.

There was a few moments silence as everyone let this sink in, then Malachite walked up and hugged his girlfriend tight.

"It'll be ok, I'm sure of it. Neither Antauri or Ichigo is likely to get really angry, so I reckon there'll be a few tears but they'll both understand and move on" he heard a small sob escape Zaki's lips and he pulled her in closer, letting her bury her face in his chest.

Everyone gave the pair a sympathetic look before turning to look at the door which suddenly whooshed open. Gibson and Kai walked in smiling,

"They're awake now. You can go in and see them" said Kai, and no sooner had the words left her mouth a mob flew past with two black and white blurs at the forefront of it. "Guess they were eager" laughed Kai then she sweat dropped to see Gibson pummelled into the floor with footprints all over him.

"You guess?" he groaned, rhetorically.

The mob soon burst into the med bay of the Robot where they froze. There, they saw Otto looking wide-eyed over at Ichigo, who seemed unable to decide whether to smile or cry. The reason for this confusion? The black monkey looking at her sadly as he stroked her hand.

"I guess... you finally broke it to her?" asked Onyx nervously, a nod from Antauri confirmed this and Onyx sighed heavily. Everyone slowly left the room, deciding to give Ichigo some time to think; everyone except Onyx.

Otto looked between the two nervously and got up out of the bed he'd been resting in. He quickly went to the doors and was pounced on by his wife, Jet, who was soon crying and hugging him tightly whilst shouting a mixture of how relieved she was and how she was gonna kill him for worrying her so much. Otto blinked in confusion for a second before giving a big and cheesy grin.

Onyx smiled slightly at the scene before he turned back to Ichigo; she was still in her human form, her hands mindlessly playing with her long white hair as her blue eyes stayed firmly locked at her lap. Onyx could tell she was upset about Antauri leaving her, but somehow he felt that wasn't what had caused all of it. He gulped slightly, pulling himself up and walking over to her, he sat down where Antauri had been only moments before. An awkward silence settled as Onyx realised he couldn't think of anything to say and they sat like that for quite some time.

Soon, the loud voices and happy cheers outside the med bay died away as the rest of the team moved away, no doubt to the main room to celebrate more, leaving only the robotic hum of machines as company for the pair. Onyx looked at his thumbs, then took a big breath

"So...how are you feeling?" he asked, feeling stupid the moment he said it. He felt worse when he got no response and he felt a little deflated, "Ichi... I understand what you're going through-"

"How can you?" a sharp small voice cut in and Onyx looked surprised. He looked around for the source until he realised Ichigo was now looking at him, albeit only sideways but her focus was intensely on him. Onyx looked back, slightly confused and he watched as her eyes seemed to cloud with emotions, "how could you possibly know what this is like? You don't know this at all" Onyx seemed shocked at how cold and hard Ichigo's voice had become. He even was a little intimidated,

"Ichi... I do know how you feel... When Krystal left me, I felt exactly like you do now" he explained, feeling the pain in his heart of talking about Krystal, but he shook himself and remembered that he needed to be the understanding one here. Ichigo blinked then glared at him hard,

"I'm not talking about what happened between me and Antauri, I'm talking about what happened between me and you!" she snapped. Onyx stared agog at her,

"W-w-what?" he asked and he watched Ichigo as she looked away and her breathing became heavier.

"When you...at the hot spring and you...you..." she succumbed to the pain she felt inside and sobs racked her whole body. Onyx remained bewildered for a few moments and then slowly the realisation hit him.

'She means when I said I hated her... what have I done?' he looked down and actually felt sick with himself. That had been what had caused the pain in Ichigo's heart, why she seemed as upset as she was. He felt lower than dirt then, how could he have hurt her like that? But then a determination fired up inside his chest,

'I'm not going to hurt her, ever again!' and with that he took Ichigo's hand,

"Ichigo...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, I don't hate you. In fact I...like you. A-a lot actually" he felt his stomach knot itself and turn to ice. He felt sweat pour out of places he never thought it could and the blood was rushing to his face. Then he noticed that Ichigo's sobs had stopped. He looked up into her face to see her staring in confusion at him,

"But... why did you say that you... hated me?" she asked quietly, sounding almost child-like, and it was all Onyx could do to stop himself from going on a self-hate rampage in his mind. He looked at her, his eyes shining sincerely,

"Because I..." then he thought about it, he couldn't explain it without revealing how much he 'liked' her and somehow the words just wouldn't come out, "I just don't know" confessed Onyx, holding Ichigo's hand tightly in both of his. "But I promise... I won't hurt you like that ever again!" Ichigo's eyes seemed to shine too at this point and finally a small smile lit her features,

"Really?" she asked quietly, a small fear of being rejected still present. But this diminished when Onyx smiled and nodded his head; Ichigo gave a happy cry and hugged him tight, quite easily taking him off his feet in her human form as he was still in his monkey form. However, Onyx found himself almost eye to chest with the human, and still very naked, girl and he quickly tried thinking of other things to stop his blood rushing south. Then his features looked determined again, he pulled away from Ichigo's embrace and looked into her face.

"Ichigo, I have something really important I have to tell you" he said seriously, the seriousness making Ichigo calm down and look slightly worried,

"Yes Onyx?" she asked, head titling slightly in curiosity. It was at this moment all of Onyx's new found determination diminished and he was stumbling of words again.

"I...um, well that is I uh... Um..." he stuttered, just as the med bay door burst open and Otto burst in.

"Guess what guys? Onyx fancies Ichigo! Really badly!" he cried, without even looking to see who he was declaring this to. When he did look he jumped in shock, "uh oh" he whimpered as Onyx, claws out and looking furious, came racing at him,

"I'M GONNA KILL YA!" he cried, jumping on the bewildered green monkey and soon cries of pain were heard. "You've breathed your last stupid breath, you idiot-"

"Onyx?" came a soft voice. Onyx froze, one hand raised and claws out with Otto held firmly by his chest in the other hand, and turned, looking mortified, over to Ichigo, who also seemed shocked.

"Is this... true?" she asked quietly, and Onyx turned bright red.

"Well I...I...er..." he stuttered, "Igottago!" he cried, dropping Otto. He was about to race out the door when Nova, Zakuro, Jet, Emerald and Cait all blocked him in and started teasing him.

"Time to fess up, bro!" giggled Jet as they pushed Onyx over next to Ichigo before grabbing Otto and rushing out again. Onyx glared hard at the door for a good while then let out a heavy sigh, he turned to Ichigo.

"Is it... true, Onyx?" asked Ichigo quietly and Onyx gazed into her eyes,

"...Yes" he finally said and suddenly he felt like a heavy weight had been lifted and the rest of his feelings suddenly came flooding out, "I've loved you for months now... but I didn't want to tell you."

Ichigo blinked then looked confused,

"But why didn't you want to tell me?" she asked,

"Because I was scared. I was scared that Antauri would kill me, that my dad would attack you, that you... didn't feel the same way" he said this last one more quietly and looked down. He stood there, next to her bed, shuffling his feet and twisting his tail nervously for a while. His nervousness grew and grew until he couldn't take it,

"I'm really sorry, I'll go" he said quickly and turned to leave when a hand stopped him. He turned around and, just as he turned, he felt small furry lips press against his own. Onyx stood there, dumbfounded, with fireworks going off inside him, then he blinked and grinned dopily,

"Wow" he said dazedly and smiled at Ichigo, who was now in her monkey form. She giggled happily, a blush clearly visible on her face, and leaned back again. Onyx suddenly looked confused then realisation hit him, "does this mean that you..."

"Yes" she confessed quietly, "I love you too" and Onyx felt as though he'd waited a lifetime to hear those words. He felt his heart sing as he jumped on Ichigo and kissed her deeply, holding her tight.

They only parted when they heard the med bay doors open and Onyx scowled, ready to fry whoever had decided to ruin the happiest moment of his life. He blinked when he saw it was a monkey he'd never seen before; a dark blue monkey, a lot younger than himself though he seemed older than Malachite who was the oldest child on the team, with dark eyes although one had a white pupil and the other an orange one.

"Zinnaux! We told you not to interrupt them!" shouted Gibson as the team rushed up behind him. He frowned at the younger monkey, who just shrugged casually,

"Reeeeelax ol' laserbrain! I just wanted to see them! After all" and at this point the monkey smirked very perversely and winked at Ichigo "how could I pass up the chance to meet a pretty lady?"

Ichigo stuttered slightly and blushed in embarrassment, Onyx growled and stood protectively in front of her,

"Great, another Sprx on the team!" he snapped, glaring at the smaller monkey and eliciting two 'heys!' Zinnaux snorted and looked uncaring,

"I was just being a gentleman. But I guess manners were overlooked on you" he retorted and everyone quickly backed away from the monkey with a death wish,

"Looks like you've got a big mouth, but then again, that's probably to make up for your lack of being able to do anything else useful" Onyx snorted at the monkey and turned away.

"Wanna bet?" the monkey countered and jumped on Onyx, causing a huge fight to break out between the two. Everyone tried to calm them down, but soon gave up when they saw it was in vain and started drawing bets instead on who'd win.

Meanwhile, as this continued, an army green monkey with red eyes was cursing quietly at Onyx and at losing his iguana as he walked up a large pile of ice and rock. He was just reaching the peak when it rumbled loudly, causing many large rocks to be displaced and bound towards him. Matt jumped back, dodging the rocks effortlessly, when suddenly the pile seemed to explode and sent Matt flying.

He groaned loudly in pain but, when he looked up, the sight before him made him forget his pain. He stared in fear at the black monkey before him which had a blue streak running up its face, casually pulling spike of ice out of its body and smirking evilly.

"Now... it's payback time" it muttered sinisterly.

And there it ends! At long last! Or maybe short last to some of you / anywhos. Dark Fox Tailz wants to make a sequel to this! The sequel will be called 'And So It Ends' so watch out for it! In fact he gave me the idea for this last bit so it's tie in with his so go thank him. Do it! I command you! D: and review this chapter too! Cos reviews are what makes the world go round!


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